Dracula and New Women

            Bram Stoker’s Dracula introduced readers to the “New Women” of the Victorian Era. Lucy Westenra and Dracula’s female vampires represent the new women of the Victorian Era. The way Stoker portrays Lucy Westenra and the female vampires leads readers to believe that Stoker not only was against the New Women of the Victorian Era but that the lifestyle led to Lucy and the female vampires’ deaths.

            The Oxford English Dictionary defines New Women as “a woman who is considered different from previous generations; esp. one who challenges or rejects the traditional roles of wife, mother, or homemaker, and advocates independence for women and equality with men.” During the Victorian Era, a woman such as Mina Harker was viewed as the ideal woman. Mina Harker did not challenge the traditional roles of being a wife, mother, or homemaker. Lucy Westenra however did challenge the traditional roles of women during the Victorian Era. In one of her letters to Mina, Lucy wonders, “why can’t they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all this trouble? But this is heresy, and I must not say it” (Stoker 91). Lucy admits to Mina and the readers that having three husbands is heresy thus acknowledging the role expected of her as a woman of the Victorian Era. From the letters written to Mina, the readers begin to see that Lucy is torn between the expected roles of women in the Victorian Era and the New Women. This conflict is more apparent when Mina begins to document Lucy’s sleepwalking. During the day, Lucy represents the ideal Victorian Woman but at night another side of Lucy becomes present. At night Mina documents Lucy’s behavior as restless and impatient to get out (Senf 42). The restlessness that Lucy displays at night eventually leads her to Dracula and to her death.

            Dracula’s female vampires are another representation of the New Women. Lucy Westenra represented the strong independent characteristics of the New Women while the female vampires represent the sexual advancements of the New Women during the Victorian Era. During his trip to Transylvania, Jonathan Harker encounters Dracula’s three female vampires and documents what he remembers into his journal. “All three had brilliant white teeth, that shone like pearls against the ruby of their voluptuous lips. There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear” (Stoker 69). The way Jonathan Harker describes the female vampires leads readers to believe that while Jonathan desires and lusts for them, something about their sex appeal is dangerous. The behavior and physical characteristics of the female vampires represents a reversal of sexual roles commonly associated with New Women (Senf 40). According to Carol A Senf, of Victorian Times, New Women felt comfortable initiating sexual relationships, explore alternatives to marriage and motherhood, and discussing sexual matters such as venereal diseases (35). The New Women’s sexual views lead to the female vampires ultimate death. The female vampires impose a threat to the men and are killed because of that.

            The New Women of the Victorian Era introduced in Stoker’s novel posed a threat to the men and the current roles of women. Lucy Westenra and Dracula’s female vampires both went against the expected roles of women, which ultimately led them to their deaths. Stoker viewed the New Women lifestyle as dangerous and threatening to the men of the Victorian Era.

Works Cited:

“New Women.” Def. 2b. Oxford English Dictionary Online. 3^rd ed. Oxford: Oxford UP,

2009. Web. 18 Nov. 2012.

Senf, Carol A. "'Dracula': Stoker's Response To The New Woman." Victorian

Studies 26.1 (1982): 33. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.

Stoker, Bram. Dracula. Ontario, Canada: Broadview, 2000. Print.